← ArchivePsalmsPsalms – The Joy of His Presence (Psalm 122)DateJuly 10, 2022SpeakerDr Josh BurnhamTextPsalms 122Passages in this sermonPsalms 1202:42Psalms 1222:42Psalms 1611:58Hebrews 10:2519:28John 720:37John 7:3723:31John 826:33Jude 132:46TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00Welcome to the church that gathers at Bethel. My name is Josh, lead pastor here. And if you are worshiping with us online,0:29and I know we have some that are in the throes of COVID today, so they're watching online and we have many others. Welcome. If you are a new here and a guest here, we simply want to say thank you. And we're going to do so with our applause this morning. So that's our way of saying you are a guest. We've prayed for you. We have prepared for you. And we gather every week because of the gospel. Jesus in our place. Because we believe that it is Jesus who makes the difference.0:59So as we look at the word today, I want to start off with a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Some of you might have never heard that name, but you, you've heard the quote. He said famously that life is a journey, not a destination. Life is a journey, not a destination. So today we read a psalm that1:23describes a journey. It's a journey of worship. And often incorrectly, I believe, and passively incorrect, we speak of worship not as a journey, but as a target, as a finish line. Because we'll say things like this, trying to be helpful. I want to invite you to worship. Come with me and go to church.1:49And inherently in that phrase, we're saying, come to a location, go to a target. Here is the end goal. But not the psalmist. The psalmist describes worship as a end and a journey. It can be both one in the same. It's quite fascinating to know that early Christians in Rome in the book of Acts were2:15not called Christians. They were called followers of the way. Not the end, but the way. Because Christianity is a picture of someone following Jesus Christ, not once, not twice, but every day of their life. So I've chosen Psalm 122 out of Psalms 120 and 134 as a picture of the Psalms of Ascent.2:42Psalms of Ascent. These are psalms that were used in the journey as you would go up to Jerusalem, go to the temple, and worship God three times a year. And you can almost picture that. Now, why do they call it the Psalms of Ascent? Because very literally, no matter where you are in Israel,3:10you have to go up to Jerusalem. You have to go up the mountain. And then the temple is even on Mount Zion in the city of Jerusalem. So picture yourself with your family, with your friends, taking a journey slowly descending down into the valley and then ascending up into the mountain of the Lord. These are the Psalms of Ascent. These Psalms that have been read as the worshiper entered into the temple3:38complex by the Levites. So as we look at Psalm 122 in the Psalms of Ascent today, what one word for you would describe your journey to worship this morning? Your journey to worship, if you're listening to this later in the week, your journey today. Maybe like me, maybe your word is joyful. Or maybe like me,4:02your word is chaotic. Purposeful. Maybe haphazard. Because this is just something you do. Routine. For some of you, you've come here today apprehensive. Maybe your word is expectant. You came with expectant hearts knowing that God was going to do something great in your midst. Or maybe4:29refreshing. Well, I believe David in Psalm 122 shares his word. He says, this is what I expect God to do in my life when I go into his presence in worship. Psalm 122. I will read all nine verses this morning. A song of a sense of David. I rejoiced with those who said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord.4:57Our feet were standing within your gates, Jerusalem. Jerusalem, built as a city should be, solidly united, where the tribes, the Lord's tribes, go up to give thanks to the name of the Lord. This is an utterance and an ordinance for Israel. There thrones for judgment are placed. Thrones of5:23the house of David. Pray for the well-being of Jerusalem. May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls, security within your fortress. Because of my brothers and friends, I will say, may peace be in you. Because of the house of the Lord, our God, I will pursue your5:47prosperity. There is joy in the presence of the Lord. Let's pray. Father, we thank you that salvation and worship is not an end, but it is a journey. And it is a journey where you walk with us every step of the way.6:11Lord, cause us to rejoice over you. Cause us to have joy in our hearts because where the spirit of the Lord is, there is peace and there will be everlasting joy. Lord, we thank you for what we've already prayed this morning over Matthew, that your mercy is new every morning. So Lord, be new to us today.6:40Refresh us by your spirit and through the blood of your son, Jesus Christ, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. The joy of his presence, that's the word that David uses to describe his worship. Every year, followers of Yahweh would journey up to Jerusalem at least three times a year. There were three7:07large-scale corporate festivals. God's people are party people because there should be something in our lives where there is joy in the presence of God. So if you don't like festivals, if you don't like feasting, if you don't like celebrating, God's not for you. Because God's people inherently should rejoice. And they would go up to the temple three times a year, Pesach,7:35Passover. And then later they would go to Pentecost. And then the final festival of the year is the feast of the feast of tabernacles or booths or the feast of shelters. Now, Psalm 122 would be sung at the final festival. The rabbi said that there are 15 steps on the temple and that the Levites would7:58actually stand on the temple and they would proclaim very loudly and sing Psalm 122 as God's people arrived into the presence of the most holy. But the feast of tabernacles was unlike any other. Because this yearly8:17celebration was a reminder that Yahweh appeared to his people. You remember the wilderness, don't you? You remember God delivering his people from Egypt. But he didn't deliver them and say, good luck. Find your way through the desert. Hopefully you'll find the promised land. No. As they dwelt in booths or8:43shelters, God dwelt with them. And not only did God put his presence in their midst, but God himself revealed himself to them. So the feast of tabernacles was a reminder that God is personally present and visible to those who have eyes of faith. And this is not a spiritual truth that ended in the Old Testament.9:09Today, God's promise is that he is present and visible to those who have eyes of faith. That's exactly what we pray for this young family that we were dedicating, right? Lord, one day give this young child eyes of faith to see you and know you because we are created to know God and experience his love forever. This is the feast of the tabernacles. So let me ask you, when was the last time, as this psalm does,9:37when was the last time you gave thanks for God's presence in your life? When's the last time you stopped and said, God, I know that you are with me. I see you at work. God, thank you for your presence. Because Psalm 122 reminds each and every one of us, God's provision is great, but his9:59presence is eternal. God's presence is much more infinitely valuable and treasurable than his provision in our life. And praise be a God who doesn't only show up, but he also gives us what we need in our moment of need. Church, praise God for his presence in your life. This is the point of Psalm 122.10:25So as we read this, think again of the exuberance and the delight of the worshiper. I believe we should have the same mentality as we come to God. Listen to what David says, I rejoiced with those who said to me, let us go into the house of the Lord. The best translation would be this, let's rejoice. I was glad10:53when they said to me, to Yahweh's house we go. To Yahweh's house we go. You see, the delight of worship is not merely a visit to the capital city. It was a visit to see the Lord in his presence, to know him and be known by him. And the joy of the worshiper is not an isolated day, and it's not an isolated event.11:19You can have joy in your life eternally when you tabernacle with God. That's the point of Psalm 122. So let me remind you of what David reminds us this morning. Regular communion with God and his people, right, let us go to the house of the Lord, produces a fullness of joy in your life11:44that you can find nowhere else. The Feast of Tabernacles was a reminder to God's people, you won't find joy like this anywhere else than the Lord's presence. That's why David says in Psalm 16, in your presence is abundant joy, and at your right hand, God, are eternal pleasures. This is12:07the worshiper's joy. So if you ask David in heaven one day, David, what's the one word that you would choose to describe worshiping God and being in his presence? David would say, "I don't have to even think." That word is joy because in his presence is fullness of joy. Now we see not only the joy of the worshiper,12:31but the worshiper's praise in verse 3. David says this, "Jerusalem built as a city should be, not with roads that are north and south and east and west, not with an army, not with wi-fi capabilities12:52on every street corner. This city is built as it should be, solidly united. Solidly united." Now that's fascinating because I believe that corporate worship in our lives produces a beautiful unity. You see, whether you thought about it or not, when you came here today, whether reluctantly or joyfully,13:21you didn't come here for me. And whether you think about it or not, you didn't come here for you. You came here to acknowledge publicly and corporately that God is the one who is worthy to receive glory and honor forever and ever. And whether we think about it explicitly or implicitly, hopefully we are all here for the same reason. We are united in heart because we believe that there13:51is no man that should receive praise in our life. There is only one man, the son of man. His name is Jesus Christ. And so when we talk about a city built united and solidly, worship in your life produces a unified heart. I find that it's hard to hate people that I worship with. It's hard to slander people that I worship with regularly. It's hard to talk about someone. It's hard to dismiss someone. Why?14:21Because when we worship God with other people, he unites our hearts with other people. That's the beauty and the power of worship living in our life. And David is describing that. He says, God, your tribes, all of the tribes, we're coming together and there's a vertical unity. This city is built right when we come together. But there's not only a vertical unity, there's a14:46horizontal unity when you worship. This is the worshippers praise. He said, God, not only do you unite our hearts to you, you unite our hearts with each other. Look what he says about the throne of David. There in Jerusalem, we find the judgment seat, thrones of the house of David. Now, I don't know everyone well, but I guarantee you none of you prayed this morning, Lord, we're going to your house where the15:14judgment seat is. Yes! Did anyone pray that prayer? No. But what David is reminding us of in the ancient world, thrones were the place where difficulties, fights, squabbles found restitution. So David is reminding the people, God, we bring baggage into this place. But when we bring our baggage15:41into your throne, God, your throne is the place where our baggage feels lighter and our difficulties are minimized. What a beautiful power in worship. You see, authentic worship in spirit and in truth drives away our differences. Did you know that that you and I are different?16:06I've often found that the world would be a much better place to live in if everyone looked like me and thought like me and spoke like me. And I'm reminded that the world would not be a better place if everyone looked like me and thought like me and spoke like me. We're different. And God has created us with those differences to see in us that there is diversity16:29and beautiful unity in one. The church and the presence of God should be a place where barriers and disunity and walls and petty disputes are torn down in his presence because of his throne working out in our lives. This is the worshippers joy and the worshippers praise.16:53But there's more. We see in this psalm of ascent, the worshippers prayer. Look at verse 6. He says in verse 6, "Pray for the well-being of Jerusalem." Which by the way, I mean Jerusalem, Yerushalayim, Salem, Shalom, is the city of peace. Pray for the well-being of Jerusalem.17:17May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls, security within your fortresses. Because of my brothers and friends, I will say peace be in you. Because of the house of the Lord, our God, I will pursue your prosperity. The psalmist prays for the well-being of the city.17:41And I read this psalm and it hit me that we don't live in Jerusalem. Some of you have walked the streets of Jerusalem and in my opinion there is no place on the earth like the city of Jerusalem. But we don't live there. But what if we don't live in Jerusalem because God wants us to live18:09in St. Clair County or in the near vicinity? What if God put you where you are located because you are his emissary and you are his missionary where you are located? What if God placed this local church in Moody, Odinville and beyond because our address is a holy coordinate? What if God put you in your18:37neighborhood to be a blessing to them in a world that so desperately is longing for peace? What if you are the peacemaker? What if you were born into your family or adopted into your family because you are God's agent of peace in your house? That's exactly what David is doing. He is extolling19:01the beauty of God and he's saying, "God, if you use me, I will be an instrument of your blessing in this area." And I believe congregational worship, God's presence among us does several things. We know the verse in Hebrews 10:25 that says, "Don't forsake the assembling of yourself together."19:28But right before that, the writer of Hebrews says, "Stir each other up." Like, cause problems in in your houses. But stir each other up this way. Stir each other up to love and to good works. So when we gather, we should leave here saying, "You know what? I'm going to cause a holy good works ruckus when I leave here. You know what? I'm going to love people to the point where they get tired."19:57Because we are God's agents of peace in a world that so desperately is longing to know the prince of peace. Seek the welfare of the city. Seek the welfare of our nation. And if joy, praise, and prayer are the blessings of20:19worshipful results in the Old Testament. If this is the end, the New Testament shows us the journey. So we're going to jump to the New Testament, specifically John 7 and 8. So if you were paying attention earlier, you now know that this Psalm 122 was was sung at one of the20:42great festivals of the great festivals of Israel. And it was the festival of the tabernacles or booths. And Jesus, being the the God-fearer that he was, he would also go to the temple on these occasions. And John chapter 7 records Jesus going to the temple, hearing Psalm 122 during the festival of the21:06Tabernacles. And I want you to hear how John 7 describes this scene. John 7 says this. I'm going to give you time to find it as I also do.21:38Verse 1 of chapter 7 in the Gospel of John. After this, Jesus traveled in Galilee, since he did not want to travel in Judea because of the Jews who were trying to kill him. Now the Jewish festival of shelters, booths, tabernacles was near. This is the same festival where Psalm 122, this is the context of Psalm 122. So his brothers said to him, "Leave here and go to Judea." Now listen, Jesus is not going to Judea because22:04they want to kill him. And his brothers say, "Hey, Jesus, go to Judea. Let's see what happens." Why? Look at verse 5. "For not even his brothers believed in him." Hold that thought. So this is John 7 and 8 is in the context of the Feast of Booths. It's in the context of the Psalms22:31of Ascent. And if you would have been with Jesus during this time, you would have experienced three major emphasis during the Feast of Tabernacles. Every day you have experienced from the waters of Siloam, from the pools of Siloam. The priest would have gathered water every day. And it's a grandiose ceremony. There would be singing and dancing and they would bring water from this well, the well,23:01the shaft and the tunnel dug by Hezekiah. And they would bring the water to the temple and they would extol the virtues of God's blessing, extol the virtues of refreshment. God, as we sheltered in place, you were the one who restored our souls. And Jesus being near the temple at the Feast of Tabernacles spoke this. On the last and most important day, Jesus stood up in John 7:37.23:31And he said, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flowing deep within him." Dear friend, there is fullness of joy in the life of the one who knows the presence of the Lord, because that23:58is the place where thirsty people find refreshment. This is why Jesus says, "Come to me, you will find living water." Jesus is reminding us that there were people sitting in the temple, sitting in the church complex that were thirsty and dry and without healing. So if you think that just because you show up24:24in a worship gathering that you know living water, Jesus reminds us that's not always true. But the promise of the Messiah is that if you are spiritually parched today, come to Jesus. Find living water. It's the water that will never run dry. Friend, you can find refreshment today. And the24:53journey of faith is the most refreshing journey that you will ever find in your life. Come to Jesus. Drink deeply from his well. There's a second emphasis on this holy week. Not only water drawn every day, and Jesus is speaking into that, but there's also this beautiful illumination of light.25:21The rabbi said that there was no courtyard in Jerusalem without light on that night. Jerusalem sat on a city. It was a city on a hill, so everyone in the surrounding area would see the illumination. It's said that the rabbis would dance with torches and sing around the complex during this week. An overachiever named Rabbi Simeon Ben Gamaliel is said to have juggled eight flaming torches at one time,25:49while the Levite orchestra played on. In my mind, I'm hearing the Boston Pops playing in the background, and Simeon is just dancing with the eight torches, because they were thanking God for his light in their life. And it was during this festival of lights that Jesus encountered the unbelief and the darkness of religious people.26:19It was during the festival of lights that people who were supposed to see light were living in darkness. If you read on in John chapter 8, it was during this time where the leaders of the temple, during the festival of lights, brought a woman they caught in adultery. If you remember how the scene unfolds, they brought her to Jesus and said,26:44Jesus, during the festival of lights, we caught her in the act. And the law of Moses says that this woman should be stoned. Jesus is quiet and begins to scribble in the grounds. He doesn't really answer their questions, but he simply says, well, if we're going to stone her, let the person without sin cast the first stone.27:15And there's something about wisdom for these older people, because it says they began to leave the oldest first, because they realized, God, I can't throw that stone. And it was right after that moment, during the festival of the lights, to darkened religious people that Jesus said,27:43I am the light of the world. It's the reminder that people who walk in darkness can see again. You see, these religious leaders brought this woman to Jesus because they tried to shine a light on her sin. And Jesus was trying to shine his light into their hearts. Jesus did not excuse her sin,28:12but he also didn't ignore the darkness of their hearts. And friend, that's exactly what Jesus does in your life. If you're here today, pointing blame at someone else, thinking, well, I'm not that bad. Before you shine light on someone else's sin, let Jesus shine his light on your heart. That is where we find true healing. And the promise for those who believe in Jesus is that you will never walk in darkness again.28:41Think about that. For those who have by faith trusted in Christ, he says you'll never walk in darkness. Praise God for his eternal light. But there's one more emphasis during this week. The water, which Jesus says, I am the living water. The light where Jesus says, I am the light of the world. And every week, every year of this week, God's people had to make shelters for themselves.29:10Now, this is not glamping. They're not going to the Marriott. Or wherever you think your lowest bar of establishment might be. But rabbis record, and there are copious books that tell you how to build a shelter. So God's people every year would have to build a shelter. And it says things like this. It should be 50% shaded. But it also must allow rain into the shelter.29:38It cannot stand beneath a tree. Because that's cheating. The temporary shelter reminds us constantly of our frailty and utter dependence upon the Lord. You see, God's people had to build a shelter. But they only could build it halfway. And it's a reminder that there is nothing that we build in our lives that will ever bring us full comfort. Only God brings that.30:07This is why Jesus came. Because he knows that there is nothing that we can build in our lives to earn or experience his presence ever again. And John, the writer of this book, who was with Jesus during the Feast of Tabernacles, also writes the book of Revelation. Listen to what John says in Revelation, the very end of the Bible.30:34He says, Then I heard a loud voice from the throne. Look, God's dwelling, God's tabernacling is with humanity. And he will live with them. They will be his people. And God himself will be with them and will be their God. Church, because of Jesus Christ, God dwells with and in you.30:59We don't have to go to a temple. We don't have to venture to a building. We don't have to wait until next year to be in the presence of God. Through Christ, God dwells in you. Think about the beauty and the power of that truth. And with his presence is fullness of joy.31:28If you have given your life to Jesus, you are the temple of the living God. You are the temple. God is tabernacling in you. But not everyone believes this message of the psalm of ascents. You remember the brothers that told Jesus, Why don't you go to Judea? Hopefully they'll kill you. Jesus had two brothers we know of.31:57One named James and another named Jude. Something in their lives changed. Because James and Jude would one day see their brother Jesus die on the cross. But it didn't end there. They would see their brother Jesus rise from the dead. Jesus would appear to them post-resurrection.32:26Something happened to James. Something happened to Jude. And it's called faith. And later in his life, writing, I believe, about the feast of tabernacles, Jude would write these words. In Jude chapter 1, because there's only one chapter. He says, Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and make you stand in the presence of his glory32:55without blemish and with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory and majesty and power and authority before all time now and forever. See, there's a point in Jude's life where the psalm of ascent was about going near the presence of God. But when he realized Jesus died on the cross33:26and rose again for him, Jude understood that we don't have to wait for the feast of tabernacles. But God dwells with us. And maybe you're like Jude today. Maybe you don't believe. Would you trust Jesus Christ for the first time? Maybe you're here and you're thirsty. Find refreshments that only Jesus can provide for your soul. Maybe you're walking in darkness33:57and you know your life is about to fall apart and you cannot see the end. Jesus is the light of the world. And maybe you're here and you've been building your life and you're thinking, if I build enough, if I try hard enough, then I can build a tabernacle that's fit for God. Friend, there is nothing that you can build in your life that will earn God's grace. That's why Jude, by faith,34:27had to trust in Jesus. That's why Jude says that Jesus presents you from stumbling. Jesus presents you in the presence of God, of His glory, without blemish and with great joy. I don't know about you, but the thought of knowing that Jesus presents me before His Father without blemish is something to celebrate. That there is no sin in my life that has not been covered.34:56Does anyone hear that? And say, Jesus, thank you. I was glad when they said to me, we will go into your presence. And Jude is picturing this Messiah that one day when you see God face to face, Jesus doesn't say, God, here He is. I barely rescued this one from the grip of hell. Man, that was rough. No, Jesus presents you before His Father35:25and says, Father, I died for this one. Josh is here. This is the one. We've been waiting for Him. Welcome into His presence. There is joy in the presence of God. And for the Christian, we experience that day by day. If you've never given your life to Jesus Christ, Jude would tell you,35:54believe and find living water. Believe and find eternal light. Believe and find a tabernacle that will never be torn down. This is His promise. This is the hope we have in Jesus Christ. This is our song of ascent. Let's pray. Father,← Previous in PsalmsPsalms – Who Can be a Guest of the Lord? (Psalm 15:1-5)Next in Psalms →Psalms – Do Not Be Silent! (Psalm 109:1-5)More sermons on Psalms →
